Hazel Innocence
by Ameletta
Summary: Running from HYDRA, SHIELD and himself Bucky finds shelter in a small Greek town pretending to be a Syrian immigrant while struggling to find out who he is and what to do with himself. Unfortunately the Sokovian Accords and his status as HYDRA's deadliest assassin will not remain hidden for long. But will he have to fight alone or will there be Hazel eyes watching his back? CACW
**Countryside**

It is hot. No, it's burning… The sun is flaming his face and he loves it. He loves this. Summer. warmth. The trees breathe of life.

The grass beneath his feet is tickling his toes but he doesn't mind. Shoes taken off, jacket and hoodie off he can feel the whispering wind brush his face and his body through the thin fabric of his T-shirt. He can hear the songbirds tweeting all around.

There is a dozen instincts crawling behind small rocks to avoid the heat and survive the dry climate. Honestly, he muses inside his head these creatures are stupid, to have something like this available and avoid it? What would they feel if they had to face the eternal winter? Then again a small logical part of his mind whispers to him: these are not human, they are not conscious of their action; they can't help acting on survival instincts.

" Just like you". Right, exactly like you an angry tinny voice whispers. Only you were not controlled by nature but by f**ing people. People who shouldn't be able to do what they did to you. Sweep away your free will like sweet candy from a child. Program you anew. Dictate your action and choices.

Bucky could fill the anger swell inside his chest. No, he would not spoil these perfect moments with thoughts of his previous captors.

No, because he was now somewhat aware of his existence and the value of being alive. Also he understood the value of these calming moments that gave him strength to move forward. To keep on breathing and not give up. For a while that seemed an impossible feat.

The voices in his head commanded him to go back to his base. Signify him to locate his boss. Debrief his mission as a failure. Follow the protocol like the trained dog he was. But he fought them. He resisted them. And then came the pain in the form of unbearable headaches. Pain that blinded his eyes, dawdled his consciousness, made him vulnerable. Made him unable to fend off his captors that were coming to find him.

Meaning they could get him again. And that was a nightmare. That simply could not happen. These were the moments he thought it would be better if he was dead. Better for him and every one of his future victims. It would be easy, way too easy. He had a handgun with him. One shot through the brain and voiala. No more pain, no more struggle, nothing.

But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was a coward. Every time he tried he couldn't pull the trigger even though he could hear the voices of the people he had killed in cold blood scream for revenge. Even when he could feel himself drowning in guilt. These moments he felt more and more like a monster. A monster without heart or soul. But then a shimmer of hope always entered his heart in a form of a blond man with vibrant deep blue eyes and a noble face. And a name… a name that he actually remembered… Steve.

After the encounter with the familiar man, the one that Bucky had saved on a whimp from drowning; jumping from the hellicarier to the lake to do so Bucky ran. He ran away from DC, and headed to Canada. There he became a stowaway to a ship going to Middle East.

Thought the journey his wounds had healed considerably and he found his strength by stealing food from the larder of the ship. He chose a large ship filled mainly with food supplies and a huge crew that was consisted of many nationalities where he could hide in shadows or blend in with the sailors since no one knew all the other member of the crew. When he arrived in Pakistan it was easy for him to move to Syria, away from the war zone and then bled with a group of illegal and war immigrants heading to an economically and politically unstable Balkan country called Greece.

From what Bucky could recall within his foggy memory Greeks went against the German in WW 2 and were generally considered a friendly if not a bit too frolic people. Taking in account the situation it seemed the perfect hiding spot for him.

After picking up the Syrian language while he was with the immigrants and a serious tan from the journey he could pass as a middle east person easily, especially since he had stolen a whole pack of black lenses from the ship he had passed the Atlantic with. So after a while he was staying in an immigrant camp in a Greek island called Mitilini . From there he got on board a ship towards Athens, Greece's capital city.

In the end he opted locating in a small city near the capital. He preferred staying away from the camera action that a big city could provide but also stay close enough to the source of information. He also preferred the countryside and the sufficient lack of concrete buildings.

Fortunately people here were used to be paid with cash and he found a job as a laborer in a small farm that paid well enough for surviving and did not offer insurance. So basically no one asked questions and if someone tried to search for him he was practically invisible. He is now staying a small renting room with a bathroom and a tiny kitchen. They family that provide him accommodation think he is from Syria with a mix of Russian blood, supposedly from his mother side. They are an elderly couple of farmers whose children have gone to work and have married and stay in the capital.

The elderly woman has the characteristics of a gentle grandma, often offering him homemade food and sweets. Her husband always treats him with respect and sometimes even sits with him to drink "tsipouro" a strong drink that reminds him a bit of rum. He also usually asks a lot of questions about the farmer work and Bucky is glad to answer him in detail. They have never asked him about his past or even why is he wearing long sleeved t-shirts and gloves in the heat. Maybe they think it iss part of the "Syrian" culture or something.

All and all Bucky is very content with the way things had played for him. He is somehow away from HYDRA and SIELD. He is somewhat safe. Although things are far from perfect. He can't remember clearly. There are fragments of information in his head, familiar faces, sounds, feelings. But mostly there are terrible nightmares. In the beginning he tried avoiding sleeping, afraid of what he would see when he closed his eyes. The nightmares he saw were almost unreal. He would wake up and stay frozen in bed until it was time to go to work. Sometimes the headache was back, and so were the voices. Pierce looking in his eyes with a chilling smile telling him he shaped the century. A dark hared Russian man with molten dark eyes talking to him.

"Good morning soldier"

And sometimes his lips where almost ready to reply in the dark

"Ready to comply"

Comply, to whom? To anybody that gave him orders, to anybody that talked to him after the void and the cold and the winter. To anybody that called him the Winter Soldier.

When sleep affected him Bucky would get up, dig out a small piece off an American newspaper and read aloud to himself. James Buchan Barnes. A hero of the WW2. Part of the Hollowing Commandos. Steven Rogers or as everyone knew him Captain America's best friend. That was him. Before death. Before HYDRA. Before the winter. He was a person, a hero and he had a friend. One that by the craziest hand of luck is still alive. And remembers him. Hydra had captured him? The Soviet? Shield? Whatever had happened he was human before.

He was not born inside a cryo-chamber. When he had first gained consciousness of himself he was scared this would be the case. He was scared that he was a machine breed for killing. That the Captain Stars or whatever was lying to him. Manipulating him. Sometimes even now he is not sure what is the truth. Only know he kinda remembers some things. Falling from a train, the man screaming for him. A little girl with dark blond hair calling him brother. The faint smell of smoke and cigarettes and cologne. The familiar feeling of hunger when he looks the sweets behind the glass of the patisserie at the other side of the road. He lived a period when food was limited. Also the bright orangey red color lipstick of that Greek girl that checks the earthnuts for various problems once a week reminds him a chocolate brown haired lady with a huge colored red smile hugging him tightly. His girlfriend?

He also remembers parts of his friendship with Steve. Sometimes when the "orangey lipstick" girl teases her friend about his younger girlfriend Bucky can almost see himself teasing a scrawny boy from Brooklyn about his crush on the girl next door. When orangey pranks her friend Antony he can picture himself scaring Steve with a wicked prank. This type of living has been good for him. The nightmares have lessen, the pain in the head has almost disappear, his body is completely healed and rested and after a long time he feels calm. Almost content. Sitting on the ground enjoying the sun. He could do this for ever.

"Arsid , stop slacking we need to collect the samples! The Agriculture trio will be here in an hour for the regular check. You know how the old man gets when this don't go his way."

Bucky blinked. When he thought about it wasn't it funny how fast he had learned to speak Greek? Not that he was complaining. Maybe a skill that he had as the Winter Soldier?

"Coming !"

He got up sluggishly. He saw others around him letting the beers and food aside and getting up. Most of them had found shadow under the trees near the field to eat their breakfast. Not him. He would always enjoy the sun. It was taken from him for so long after all.

"Hey mate. Take of that shirt will you? Aren't you dying from the heat wave in there. It has to be an oven with the long sleeves and the gloves. Damn, I feel pity for you."

John or Giannis in greek looked at Bucky as if he was insane. Some others did the same. Bucky felt his reflexes awaken from all the staring. The paranoia instinct always came back full force in these circumstances. Whenever people locked onto him for a certain amount of time.

"Guys come on, let the guy be. It's not like you are burning. Whatever he feels comfortable with I'm ok with it. Now move your asses ladies."

It was Petros. The man focused his hazel eyes on Bucky, offered an apologetic smile and starting walking towards the field while stretching his impressive muscles. His shadow was huge towering above others, but everyone knew this was one of the best and kindest man in all Megara.

As everyone was expecting exactly an hour later there they were. The oldest Agronomist , Mr Thanasis followed by his two young assistants Antony and Valinia. Bucky always found the trio kinda comical. The older man had to be above 60 and had almost no hair, tan skin and a wrinkled but handsome face. he always wore a small scorn and had a wooden pipe in his mouth. He was also tallish.

Next was Antony. The boy was very very thin and tall with muscles. He was also really dark skinned with dark short hair and huge dark eyes. The kid was cool, obsessed though with the Greek history, Greek tradition and the politics. Every time he was there a small verbal fight would break over politics among the coworkers.

The third part of the trio was the weirdest of all. Valinia was a tiny girl with a short pixie haircut and unnatural Violet red hair. Her skin had yellowish hue and was rather light. Whenever Bucky saw her she wore a crazy colored lipstick :red, fuchsia, violet, grey. She also had crazy colored nails and always some short of feather earring. But the weirdest thing about her was her character. She could speak to anyone. Literally. It was obvious she knew a lot of topics, cooking, politics, history, fashion, travelling. She was never unnerved by the male population around her, was always friendly in a brotherly or sisterly kind of way and always asked them first if they had any issue. Bucky was not really surprised when he heard that the girl was also a makeup artist and hairdresser. But as everyone around him, thought it was funny how she could do different jobs at the same time. The thing that had gotten him so interested in her tough had been the first thing she had said to him the first time she saw him.

It was almost two months ago when he had first met Valinia. The first thing that has crossed his mind was "what is that pipsqueak doing here?". Then when she had gone close to him, he sent the most frightening glare towards her. She was not startled at all. On the contrary, she walked strait to his face and looked him in the eyes.

"Hello soldier, it's a difficult life isn't it?"

Bucky's eyes were huge that moment and the only thing he could register was bright hazel and forest green before she continued:

"Don't worry whatever happened to you is over. War is awful. And then people ask me why I don't believe in politics, nations, and countries. Antony says I'm not a patriot and maybe that is true, but I wonder can he register people like you. But now you are away from the warzone. You are safe. You are free. Welcome to Greece Arsid!"

The foreigner name brought him to reality. She was not talking to Bucky or the Winter Soldier but to a nameless man from Syria. And there were the most clear, innocent and beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

After that he heard a lot of things about the tinny girl. She was Antony's best friend, she lived in Athens but came to their city three times a week. She was engaged. But ironically these people cannot understand the most basic and important characteristic of this girl. She can figure out other people like they were an open book. Their feeling, their intensions, everything. That is why she is able to talk to everyone. Because she knows what the feel, what they want. Bucky can see it every time he observes her. She is different towards everyone. Because everyone need her to be a different person.

As the trio came closer to the field everyone noticed something was off. The three of them were fighting like crazy. Mr Thanasis was almost red in the face, Antony and Valinia were screaming at each other.

"Do you understand what you are saying? They wrecked a foreign country. These Americans have no shame. To kill so many people without remorse. The freak show should be put behind bars. Didn't you saw what happened in Soccovia! A country very close to Greece may I remind you!"

Valinia took a deep calming breath before almost screaming back:

"Antony calm down! I'm not saying you are wrong. Do you really think I trust or love America? Seriously? But think about it! What would have happened if the biological weapon went off? Wouldn't be dead people there? A lot more? Im not saying the Avengers are Ok by any means but they are trying. And you know how much I hate Tony Stark."

"Yea but maybe you LLooove Captain America. You and all the female population on earth. Seriously it's as if good looks makes you a good person these days."

"I'm so not dealing with you right know…."

They were very close now. Mr Thanasis offered the farmers an apologetic smile before clearing his throat loudly to stop the two friends from going at each other. He then turned towards Giannis and asked in a clear loud voice:

"How was work today? I feel my assistants forget that whatever happens to the world does not effects us immediately and some of us have a family to feed. So about the samples…"

Bucky took a few calming breaths. Mr Thansis was right. This did not affect him or his country personally. Now the Winter Soldier… that would be a different story.

Right when that thought crossed his mind he felt blazing eyes on him. He turned his head towards her and all he could see was a narrowing hazel glance surrounded with violet.


End file.
